Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1887-05-18

worth eighty cents; five and one-half
pounds OF phosphoric acid worth
twenty-six cents. II we had to buy
in market in the cheapest form
the manurial elements contained
in 100 pounds of ashes, the
cost would be $1.16. Can you afford
to throw away such valuable ma.
terials, or sell them for sixpence g.
bushel to the soap-boiler? No argu-
ment is needed; here is the value and
there is the selling price. Draw your
own conclusions. Even where ashes
have been leached to the last degree, till
every soluble thing las been washed
away, they still have value, for the
phosphate and carbonate Of lime and
magnesia remain and are worth
thirty-four cents per 100 pounds, or
$3.50 ton. The market gardeners
of Long Island knew their value and
sent ships l 600 miles to bring the ash
cry heaps of Maine, even when they
had to draw the ashes five miles be-
fore reaching the ship. But | will not
consume your time to tell how they
do things there but will give you my
experience with leached ashes in Eaton
County.
More than thirty years ago settled
in Vermontville, and bought g. lot for
my home, OF as [ expressed it to my
wife. 81 fenced in two and one-half
acres of paradise" The soil was a
stiff boulder clay, and had been ex-
hausted. Here [ planted every fruit
bearing tree and shrub of superior
value, and in the selection offruits. |
withheld not my heart from any
Joy; kept COW and three horses,
for in the thinly settled country horse
flesh had to bear the brunt Of hard
work. I had plenty of stable manure
and used it freely. But / soon found
that the excess of stable manure gave
my pear trees the fire blight, made my
apples run to water sprouts and
suckers and my grapes ran wild in
wildwood. then turned my at
tention to q heap of leached ashes
near by, and had seventy-fve to
eighty tons of these ashes scattered
over my field. No more fire blight or
water sprouts, but golden fruits in
bountiful supply. Like my ever so
great grandfather, Adam, [ left my
paradise, which passed through
several hands, and at last came into
the possession of Mrs. B. in exchange
for 100 acre farm. Her son told me
she received more money from the
sale of fruit from that two and one
half acre lot than she received from
the 100 acre farm. The soil has not
forgotten that liberal dres ling of
leached ashes, applied more than
twenty-five years ago. Apply ashes
literally, especially if your SOL is open
and porous.-R. d. Kedzie in Practical
Farmer.
Notes.
Corn that is in the least degree af-
fected by rust should never be used.
If you have field of rye it would be
good plan to allow the COWS upon
it as soon as it has made sufficient
growth. A sudden change to green
food will cause "scours," and at first
the animals should only be permitted
to Craze while the stalls are being
cleaned. The length of time for graz
ing may be increased daily until they
are no longer affected by the change.
Grass seed is not easily killed, and
for that reason may be sown as early
as may be desired. The main object
should be TO select clean seed.
Cows that eat like gluttons and do
not yield milk correspondingly with
the food consumed are sure to entail
loss. Where there are one or two
such COWS in the herd the best animals
are compelled to supply the deficiency
on the part of the interior ones, and
for that reason a dairy herd should
consist only of selected stock.
The droppings from sheep are highly
concentrated and should he carefully
saved, the best mode of so doing be-
ing to mix them with the compost
heap.
Farmers in some sections OF Pennsyl-
vania maintain the fertility of their
soils by applying 100 bushels OF
slaked lime to the acre once in five
years. 1t is said that fields which
have been subjected to this treatment
for the past 100 years are as produc-
tive now as when the experiment was
first tried. This application depends
for it's value much upon the original
character of the soil.